Thomas Chabot hurt as Senators fall to Flyers

The first sign something was wrong came before the game was even over.

Bruce Garrioch

@SunGarrioch

Thomas Chabot won't return tonight #Sens

The trouble started in the 1st period. Chabot got called for tripping, and Trevor Zegras's skate appeared to come down right on his right wrist and hand on the play. He was favoring it in the penalty box right away. He tried to keep going, but he never made it to the end of the night, and the Flyers closed out a 3-1 win. That was Philadelphia's first win of the season. Losing to a team that hadn't won yet is bad enough. Losing your captain in the same game is worse.

Bruce Garrioch

@SunGarrioch

Travis Green told reporters in Philly that Thomas Chabot has an upper body injury #Sens

Jackson Starr@Jackson_Starr_

Travis Green said postgame it’s an upper body injury for Chabot. #Sens

Upper-body is the most vague designation in hockey. It could mean a jammed wrist and a day-to-day tag, or it could mean something that costs him weeks. Here's why Sens fans are nervous anyway: that right arm and wrist has bothered Chabot on and off for years, and he has already lost big chunks of time to a broken hand. A skate blade landing on that exact spot is the worst-case version of a routine play.

He also isn't just another body on the blue line. Chabot wears the C and plays the most minutes on Ottawa's back end. He runs the power play, he moves the puck out of the zone, and the whole defensive group gets slotted in around him. If he's out, everybody below him moves up a spot and plays minutes they probably shouldn't be playing. You don't cover for that with a call-up.

Green didn't sound happy with the rest of his group either. He basically said the Chabot injury wasn't the only reason Ottawa came out of Philly with nothing.

Bruce Garrioch

@SunGarrioch

Travis Green says the #Sens had four or five players who didn't have it going tonight #GoSensGo #LetsGoFlyers 🔽

Bruce Garrioch@SunGarrioch

Ottawa Senators lose to Philadelphia Flyers, finish night without captain Thomas Chabot Ottawa Citizen t.co/SlVeWz6HKV via @ottawacitizen

Four or five guys not having it is the kind of thing a coach says after a flat night on the road. You can live with that in October if it's one bad night. Now watch for the update. If Chabot skates at the next practice and the word is day-to-day, everyone exhales. If the Sens go quiet or make a roster move on defense, that tells you what you need to know about how long their captain is out.